Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Every day, the Government, the Minister for Health and Children, his Department, the health boards, and almost 100,000 people who work in the health service try to do precisely what Deputy Kenny has requested. If he is asking if we will continue to do this and provide resources of €10.5 billion, much of which is being used to improve infrastructure in the health service, we will continue to do so.

I do not want to link local problems in any way with the circumstances of the death of Frances Sheridan, of which I am not aware and will not be aware until the State Pathologist has completed her report. We will then have to deal with that issue but I do not want to relate it to what is going on between two consultants in Cavan General Hospital who cannot get along with each other for some reason. I do not know the details of a tiff they have been having over something for the past six months. None of their colleagues is prepared, for one reason or another, to get involved in investigating the matter but at least we have reached that stage now.

I was not aware of the blow-by-blow issues. I received a full report yesterday on all the meetings which have taken place and the other circumstances regarding this issue. The Minister, who was dealing with the tragic death of Frances Sheridan today, has endeavoured to set up a third committee to investigate this matter and has given every possible cover to the consultants and others involved to try to deal with the issue. I do not know what the argument is about but I will do my best to solve it.

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